Norm Violation Essay
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Norm Violation Assignment Paper
Wonder Woman At “Planet Fitness” Fitness Center
[Student Name]
SOC 111
Professor Small
Wichita State University
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Wonder Woman At “Planet Fitness” Fitness Center
Define Social Norms.
Social norms are the rules of behavior that are believed to be acceptable in society. Every
society has its own rules for behavior and decides when those rules have been violated (Society
and Culture., n.d.). All societies have expectations about how people should and should not
behave. People who do not follow these norms may be avoided or have to deal with some kind of
consequence. Norms is a guideline or an expectation for how people should act or behave.
Norms change all the time. Norms are different in all societies, and they can be different from
group to group within the same society and they might change or even be improved (Y., 2016).
Every place people go expectations are placed on their behavior. Even while in the same society
these norms change from setting to setting (Society and Culture., n.d.).
Choose a social norm to violate.
For my social norm to violate, I chose to dress in a Halloween costume as Wonder Woman (A
woman Super hero) and go in a public place.
Choose a public location/environment in which to violate the norm. The second part, please
make sure that the norm violation is a violation in the chosen environment.
The public location/environment that I chose to go to was Planet Fitness dress in a Halloween
costume as Wonder Woman (A woman Super hero) and exercise. It is a norm violation, because
in fitness gyms society looks at this as being an institution were people are to wear
workout/exercise clothes, not a Halloween costume.
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Briefly define the Sociological definition of a social norm.
Social norms are guidelines or expectations for how people should act or behave. Every
society has its own rules for behavior and decides when those rules have been violated. All
societies have expectations about how people should and should not behave. Every place people
go there are expectations that are placed on their behavior. Even when in the same society these
norms can change from setting to setting (Society and Culture, n.d.).
Social norms are formed from social value and both helps to distinguish human social
behavior from that of other sorts of behavior. The meaning of learning in behavior varies from
society to society and is closely connected to processes of communication. Only people are
capable of complex symbolic communication and of structuring their behavior in conditions of
mental preferences that we have called values. Social norms are the resources were values are
expressed in behavior (Social Norms, Sociology Norms, Basic Concepts of Sociology Guide.
n.d.).
Social norms in general are the rules and regulations that societies live by. Maybe
because of the words; rules and regulations, social norms can seem like some kind of formal
listing, which can refer to norms as the standards of behavior of society. Some of the acceptable
norms of behavior in most societies are written down; many of them are not really formal
because a lot of them are learned informally from interaction with other people and are passed
down that way from generation to generation (Social Norms, Sociology Norms, Basic Concepts
of Sociology Guide. n.d).
In describing the social norm that I chose to violate, I chose to dress in a Halloween
costume as Wonder Woman (A woman Super hero) and go in a public place. The public place
that I chose to go to was fitness center dress in a Halloween costume as Wonder Woman (A
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woman Super hero) and exercise. I chose to do this because I want to see how people would
react to an older woman dressed in a Halloween costume as Wonder Woman to exercise as a
woman Super hero and the older woman looks in no way that she eat right or even exercise. It is
a norm violation, because in fitness gyms society looks at this as being an institution were people
are to wear workout/exercise clothes, not a Halloween costume.
There are two theories that my social norm violation relates to the symbolic interaction
theory and the functionalism theory. My social norm violation fits the symbolic interaction
theory, which studies society by concentrating on the personal meanings that people enforce on
objects, events, and behaviors. Personal meanings are given priority because it is believed that
people perform based on what they believe and not just on what is fairly true (Small, S. 2017).
Ms. Small says that society is thought to be socially created through human interpretation and
that people interpret one another’s behavior and it is these interpretations that shape the social
bond (Small, S. 2017). So when I went in Planet Fitness dress in a Halloween costume as
Wonder Woman (A woman Super hero) to exercise, were as, society beliefs are that people are
to wear workout clothes to exercise in. I violated symbolic interaction theory by wearing a
Halloween costume and not work out clothes.
My social norm violation also relates to the functionalism theory where the different parts
of society are mainly made up of social institutions, where each is planned to fill different needs
and each theory has certain consequences for the form and shape of society. The parts all depend
on each other (Small, S. 2017). Ms. Small says according to functionalism, an institution only
exists because it serves a crucial role in the functioning of society. So when I went in Planet
Fitness which is a fitness institution dress in a Halloween costume as Wonder Woman (A woman
Super hero) to exercise, were as society beliefs are people should wear workout clothes to
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exercise/workout in this type of institution. I violated the functionalism theory by wearing a
Halloween costume into the gym institution and not work out clothes, which the institution
expects people to wear in there establishment. If functionalism no longer serves a role, an
institution will die away. When new needs progress or appear, new institutions will be formed to
meet their needs (Small, S. 2017).
In describing the setting/environment I chose Planet Fitness, which is a fitness gym with
a variety of different kinds of exercise equipment. In this setting people wear their fitness clothes
or workout clothes to workout in to get fit and/or stay fit. I dressed in a Halloween costume as
Wonder Woman, which is a fictional Woman Super Hero, to exercise with all the people that
were dressed in workout clothes to work out at the gym. I chose this because I want to see how
people would react to an older woman dressed in a Halloween costume as Wonder Woman to
exercise as a woman Super hero and the older woman looks in no way that she eat right or even
exercise at all and has never been in this Planet Fitness gym.
In describing how I felt before, during and after the social norm violation, I dread doing
it, because it is way out of my comfort zone. One of the reasons is that I am out of my comfort
zone just being a student. I have very bad phobias of being in groups or/and crowds of people, or
even doing anything that makes me a center of attention. So when I was doing this social norm
violation I was extremely uncomfortable. I was very relieved and glad after I got finish doing
this social norm violation and I will not go in Plant Fitness for a long time.
In describing in detail, about how other people responded to the social norm violation
that I did, this is what happens. When I went into Plant Fitness with my daughter dressed with a
Wonder Woman cape and headband and belt on, people responded to my social norm violation
by stirring at me. My daughter told me that one person that was leaving Plant Fitness when we
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was going in asked her if we were doing a commercial and she told him no and he laugh and said
oh okay. There were about 7 or 8 people in Plant Fitness at that time, a couple of the people
laugh at me. A few other people rolled their eyes at me. I went got on an exercise bike next to a
person and they moved to another area in the gym, then I went and stood by the weights where
another person was and they looked at me and they moved too. No one ever said anything to me
but they probably would have eventually if I had stayed their longer.
Conclusion
In conclusion what I learned about societal norms and social control is that societal norms
are the rules of behavior that are believed to be acceptable in society. People who do not follow
these norms may be avoided or have to deal with some kind of consequence. I learn that social
norms are different in different environments and/or in different situation and they might change
or even be improved (Y., 2016). I also, learned that social norms are formed from social value
and that social norms and social control helps to distinguish human social behavior from that of
other sorts of behavior (Social Norms, Sociology Norms, Basic Concepts of Sociology Guide.
n.d.). So doing my social norm violation, people did avoid me and moved away from me, mainly
because I was not dressed in workout/exercise clothes in the fitness gym. With me being in a
Halloween costume in the fitness institution when it was not Halloween caused people to see me
as not fitting into the environment of the fitness institution.
What I learned about social control is that social control shows the many ways in which
our behavior, thoughts, and appearance are regulated by social norms, rules, laws, and social
formations of society. Social control is a necessary factor of social order for society and society
cannot exist without it, because society cannot be good without an agreed on or an enforced
social order, which makes daily life possible. Without social control, disorder and confusion
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would be in control. (Crossman, A. 2017). So if people went in exercise institution dress in
anything that do not represent and/or support the exercise institution such as, being in a
Halloween costumes, which don’t relate to that institution, what would happen to that
institution?
I learned that social control can be in two different forms, informal or formal. Informal
social control is people’s traditional values to the norms and values of society, and acceptance of
a certain belief technique, which people learn from the process of socialization. This form of
social control comes from mostly family (Crossman, A. 2017). Formal social control is formed
and enforced by the government and representatives of the state which enforces its laws such as,
police, military, and other city, state, and federal agencies (Crossman, A. 2017).
What I learn about myself as a social being is that I have a lot of traditional values which
comes from my family of many generations and it’s all about process of socialization which we
learn values and morals of our family when we are born. Then we are taught the norms and
values of society rules and regulations that people have to follow in society. So when I did my
social norm violation by going into Plant Fitness dressed with a Wonder Woman cape and
headband belt on, instead of workout cloths/exercise cloths, people were stirring and rolling their
eyes at me and/or moving away from me and someone asking if a commercial was being made.
This showed me that I was in violation of that institution. I knew that I did not fit in and that the
people in the gym had a problem and/or was uncomfortable with me dressed this way in the gym.
The other observations I made about the assignment was that I recognize that the social
theories are in our everyday lives. Also, how important it is to follow social norms rules and
regulations that societies live by every day. Without social theories the world would be worse
than it is now. I really realized how I never really thought about social theories being a part of
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my everyday life, until I started thinking about doing the social norm violation and then actually
doing it and how wrong it felt to do the social norm violation.
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Cite Work
Crossman, A. (2017, March 07). Understanding Social Control and its Many Forms. Retrieved
October 18, 2017, from https://www.thoughtco.com/social-control-3026587
Society and Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2017, from
http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/society-and-culture/section3.rhtml
Small, S., (2017). “Focus 2: Sociological Theories, Focus 3: Social Interaction” Class Lectures
2-3, January 2017, Retrieved September 17, 2017. from httpts://www.blackboard.wichita.edu,
Social Norms, Sociology Norms, Basic Concepts of Sociology Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved October
18, 2017, from http://www.sociologyguide.com/basic-concepts/Social-Norms.php
Y. (2016, July 18). Social Norm Examples. Retrieved October 18, 2017, from
http://examples.yourdictionary.com/social-norm-examples.html#THkz1ZMyhQe8cLlL.99